


The Centaur King

by beargrove



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, M/M, centaur!Thranduil, its kind of sad but also happy at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 22:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4455077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beargrove/pseuds/beargrove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was the most beautiful and strange creature Bard had ever seen. It looked to be over 8 feet tall, not including the large antlers adorning it’s head. Bard knew the creature was important just by the way it stood. “Possibly royalty,” he thought, watching the creature collect flowers. Bard had never met such a creature, so he was not sure. But if they had such a thing, Bard thought this particular being could be a prince, or even a king.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Centaur King

Bard crept through the forest, his body low, following the doe he had spotted. He knew that if he followed her, she would lead him to other, bigger deer. He did not like going into the forest often, something about it always made him feel on edge, so every hunting trip he tried to find and bag the biggest deer he could to bring home to keep himself fed for as long as possible.

He followed the doe for about half an hour before she wandered into a clearing. Bard stayed back in the shelter of the trees, not wanting her to spot him and get spooked. He crouched behind a tree and watched quietly as she grazed in the middle of the meadow. A few minutes later, the doe slowly raised her head up and looked into the woods opposite of where Bard was hiding. He leaned forward and squinted, trying to see what the doe saw.

What she was looking at walked into the clearing a few seconds later, and Bard was so surprised he nearly shouted. A creature that looked to be half man and half elk now stood alongside the doe, smiling down at her before looking around curiously. Bard assumed the creature was male, as it’s top half resembled that of a human man, and it’s bottom half looked to be that of a bull elk.

It was the most beautiful and strange creature Bard had ever seen. It looked to be over 8 feet tall, not including the large antlers adorning it’s head. Bard knew the creature was important just by the way it stood. “ _Possibly royalty,_ ” he thought, watching the creature collect flowers. Bard had never met such a creature, so he wasn’t sure. But if they had such a thing, Bard thought this particular being could be a prince, or even a king.

Bard was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to notice the very thing he was admiring was staring straight at him. Bard blinked and looked around, realizing that he had left his bow behind and had started walking into the clearing.

Both the creature and the deer were standing still, watching him. He looked back at the strange, beautiful creature, and smiled.

“Hail, I am Bard the Bowman. May I ask, what are you?” The creature smiled at Bard, amused.

“You ask what I am, not whom?” Bard nodded, “I have never seen a creature like you before. Not man or beast, but something in between. ‘Tis very strange.”

The creature laughed before responding, “I am Thranduil, a centaur.” He slowly trotted in a circle around Bard before continuing, “King of the centaurs, actually.”

Bard raised his eyebrows. So he had been right, the creature was royalty. He definitely had that haughty stance about him.

A few moments passed before a loud snort caused Bard to quickly look up. Thranduil was grinning down at him. “Are all humans this amusing?” He asked, and Bard’s eyes widened. He hadn’t realized he had spoken his thoughts aloud. Thranduil started laughing, placing his hands on his hips, right above the place man ended and elk began.

Bard shook his head. “Nay, you would be wise to avoid most humans.” Bard knew certain Men who would have shot Thranduil down the moment they spotted him. The thought made him frown deeply.

“What troubles you, Bard the Bowman?” Bard glanced up at the concerned centaur. “Humans are not a very nice lot, most of the time. Especially towards something they have never encountered before. I need to make sure your kind is safe. I will find elsewhere to hunt in the future.”

Thranduil smiled warmly at him. “Do not fret, Bowman. The only reason you are looking upon me is because I chose for it to be so.” Bard cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

The next moment, Thranduil was gone, and there was only the doe. Bard looked around, panicked. Had he been hallucinating? But his attention was brought back to Thranduil suddenly, who had reappeared and was laughing loudly. Bard furrowed his brow in confusion. “That is what I mean. My kind have a strong magic, we can only be seen by the eyes of Men if we so wish.”

Bard smiled, relieved. “Tell me then, why did you choose to let me see you?” Thranduil looked down at the doe and waved her off before turning back to Bard. “Because I have watched you hunt in my woods before, Bowman. I sense a great kindness within your heart.” Bard could feel his cheeks flush but chose to ignore it. Thranduil simply grinned at him, which only furthered the blush.

Bard wondered if the centaur knew how stunning he was. By the grin he was sporting, Bard assumed that he was well aware of the fact.

Thranduil slowly knelt to the ground, laying on his side, elk legs tucked into his lower half while his upper half stretched out on the grass. He looked up at Bard expectantly before patting the ground next to him.

Bard dropped to the ground and laid next to Thranduil, rolling onto his back, and stared up at the sky.

They stayed like that for hours, talking. Thranduil learned that Bard was also a bargeman as well as a bowman, and Bard learned that the centaur king was the reason Bard always felt so uneasy in the forest.

“So you have a spell over your whole kingdom that makes men unable to venture too deep?” He asked, and Thranduil hummed. “Aye, Bowman. If you had crossed this clearing and ventured into the forest depths, you would eventually get so frightened that you would turn and flee the way you came.”

Bard rolled over onto his side and propped his head up on his hand. “I no longer feel l on edge in these woods. Is it because I am with you, or does the spell no longer work on me now that I have seen you?” Thranduil grinned at him.

“It is because you have fallen in love with me and so the magic can sense you are no longer a danger to the woods or the creatures that inhabit it.” Bard sputtered as he turned a dark shade of red. “What? What are you talking about! In love with you- that’s absurd!” Thranduil laughed heartily, “Oh, you should see the look on your face!”

He looked incredibly pleased with himself, so Bard just huffed at him in annoyance, face still burning, and flopped onto his back once again. “You can not say things like that.”

“What do you mean?” Thranduil sounded genuinely confused, so Bard peered over at him. “Men and women do not tell each other they’re in love until they have been properly courted for the correct amount of time.” Thranduil furrowed his eyebrows. “Centaurs do not waste time on such things. When we see the one we love, we often know it immediately. What do you mean men and women?”

Bard sat up and stared at the centaur who was gazing at him curiously. “W-well… Men and women. You know, male and female? Male humans do not court other males, such a thing is looked down upon.”

Thranduil looked positively stricken by this. “What if a male human falls for another male human?” Bard shook his head. “Such a thing is not spoken of, as to not bring shame on the family. If such a thing is felt, it is hidden and kept secret. Why do you look so horrified?”

Thranduil pushed himself up on his elbow. “That is not the way centaurs do things. Love is love and if it is felt, it is acted upon. We love freely and happily.”

They stared at each other for a long while before Thranduil broke the silence. “Have you ever felt love for a human male?” Bard shut his eyes tight and clenched his fists. “No.”

Thranduil frowned. “Have you felt love for... a nonhuman male?” Bard covered his closed eyes with his fists, blushing hard in shame. He whispered a hoarse yes in response, and did not move until he felt a hand tugging at his arm.

He let Thranduil move his arms down before opening his eyes. The centaur had sat up, his legs curled underneath him, and was now holding Bard’s arms at his sides, looking at him intensely.

“Is it me you feel love for, Bard the Bowman?” Bard didn’t think his body could possibly spare any more blood to fuel his ever growing blush without passing out. He cast his eyes downward, away from Thranduil’s face.

“Aye.”

Thranduil put a hand under Bard’s chin and forced his face upward. “Look at me, Bard.” Bard obeyed, and his eyes widened at Thranduil’s warm smile.

Thranduil leaned in and brushed his lips against Bard’s. Bard immediately leaned forward and pressed his lips hard against the centaur’s. Thranduil smiled and kissed back before pulling away slightly and kissing the tip of Bard’s nose playfully. Bard reached up and put his arm’s around Thranduil’s shoulders, pulling him down to press their foreheads together.

“This is wrong.” He frowned. It didn’t feel wrong, but he knew it had to be. If it were right, it would not be shunned. Thranduil frowned and stroked Bard’s face. “No, Bowman. This is love. Love is never wrong.”

Bard sighed. “I want to stay here, with you. I don’t want to feel this only to return to my home, alone. I would never be accepted if the others found out. I would be chased out of my home.”

Thranduil started to comb his fingers through Bard’s hair. He knew that if he let Bard come with him, that Bard would be stuck in the forest forever. He would slowly become less human, until eventually he was completely fae. He would be different then. No longer this gentle and kind human kneeling before him. He would be mischievous and cruel.

He would not be Bard.

“You can not come with me, the forest’s magic will change you. I do not want to watch the one I love become the creature you would become. Stay with the humans, find a wife, make a family.”

Bard let out a sob and Thranduil gripped his neck hard. “I know what will become of you once the forest takes hold, and I do not wish for that most of all.” Bard tightened his grip on Thranduil’s shoulders. “Can we just stay here for the night, please? Let me have this one wish.” Thranduil nodded and held Bard’s face, leaning in to kiss him again.

“We shall visit each other here, can you agree to that? I can not take you into my kingdom, and I can not go with you to your home, so we must always meet here, in this clearing.” Bard nodded and wiped his eyes with his coat sleeve.

They lay back down on the grass and held hands, staring up at the sky. Thranduil told Bard of the constellations, and Bard told Thranduil what he knew of the sea.

Bard fell asleep hours later, clinging to Thranduil’s arm, his legs curling up to his chest. Thranduil stroked his hair for awhile before laying back and succumbing to sleep as well.

When they awoke, they kissed before parting, each walking back towards their respective homes. Bard went about his duties in town, his thoughts always on the beautiful centaur. The next time he needed to go hunting, he set out for the forest. It had been 2 weeks since the day he met Thranduil, and he hoped he would see him again. Bard had doubts he would even find the clearing again, but was overjoyed when he stumbled right into it after walking for an hour.

He looked around, blinking slowly, and grinned when he saw Thranduil appear. The spent the day talking and Bard went home that night, a crown of flowers clutched tightly in his hand. Things went on like that for many months, and Bard was grateful that the people of Laketown didn’t seem to notice if he disappeared for a night. Then one day came when Bard came to visit and Thranduil was very late. Bard smiled up at him and tried to jest, but something was wrong. Thranduil lay beside him and they talked about the flowers and the sky, but Thranduil seemed unhappy. Whenever Bard asked about his troubles, Thranduil just gave him a weak smile and waved his hand in dismissal.

Bard fell into a fitful sleep that night, clutching Thranduil’s arm to his chest.

* * *

 

When Bard woke up, he was alone.

He gathered his things and looked around, hopeful, and when he found nothing, he went home.

The next time he came to the clearing, Thranduil did not show up. Bard sat there for hours but as night fell, he made his way home, confused and hurt.

He visited the clearing every time he came to the woods, until he started to feel uneasy there. The thought made him clench his fists in rage. The forest no longer welcomed him here, and he could not go deeper.

As the years passed, Bard was alone. He hunted closer to the town now, not daring to venture into those woods any deeper than absolutely necessary.

As he got older, he tried to push the love and sorrow he felt for Thranduil away. He fell in love with a woman from town, and married her. His love for Thranduil refused to fade, however. He thought of it often. For awhile he was sure the centaur had placed him under a terrible spell. He tried everything he could to ignore it, but it never went away.

It had not faded with the birth of his first daughter, nor his first son, nor his second daughter.

It had still not faded with the death of his wife, which left him feeling hollow and broken.

It had not faded, but it had changed as he grew older. Bard no longer felt sorrow for the love he felt he had lost. Bard now cherished it, just as he had cherished his wife’s love.

He knew that Thranduil had loved him, maybe he still did, and that he was only protecting Bard from the forest. The forest would have changed him, and if Thranduil had not left, Bard would have never come back to town and met his wife, or had his children.

So he no longer tried to push away the love he felt or the happy memories from the forest.

He laughed as he showed his youngest daughter the constellations Thranduil had taught him.

He grinned as he taught his son to ride a horse, and closed his eyes and listened to the horse trot around, imagining it was the Centaur King.

He smiled as he taught all of his children that love is love, and that they should never be ashamed of that, no matter who they loved. If they felt it, it was real, and they should never forget that.

 

[My drawing of centaur!Thranduil!](http://littleartbear.tumblr.com/post/124985214265/he-was-the-most-beautiful-and-strange-creature)

**Author's Note:**

> People seemed to like the thing I drew so I wrote a quick oneshot for it! I hope it's not really bad heh,,,,
> 
> Maybe reblog the art too if you liked the fic, it would mean a lot!


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